What happens to water when it is on a hill? Think about it... If you are not sure, please find a hill and pour a cup of water at the top and try it!
Depending on what it is flowing on (gravel, blacktop, grass, sand), it can do different things. This is really fun to watch during or after a rain. You should notice that sometimes it will sink in, puddle up, or other times it will flow downhill. It all depends on the surface that it is on. Your Mission this week is to explore how different liquids flow downhill.
Depending on what it is flowing on (gravel, blacktop, grass, sand), it can do different things. This is really fun to watch during or after a rain. You should notice that sometimes it will sink in, puddle up, or other times it will flow downhill. It all depends on the surface that it is on. Your Mission this week is to explore how different liquids flow downhill.
What You Will Need
- a large cookie sheet
- a variety of different liquids, you can use any of the following: water, corn syrup, honey, vegetable oil, glycerin, shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, seawater, milk, maple syrup, molasses, hand lotion, baby oil, etc. (you can use any liquids that your Science Buddy says are OK to use.)
- droppers or 1/4 tsp measuring spoon
- a ruler
- area to work near a sink
- paper towels (to clean up)
What To Do
- Use your dropper or your 1/4 teaspoon to place a small sample across the edge of the cookie sheet. Try to make the samples the same size and starting on the same line across.
- Lift the side with the samples up three inches. Hold it there (or put something underneath it like a piece of clay or a book) for a few minutes to see what happens to the different liquids.
- Test different liquids against one another to see which is faster.
- Wipe the tray off with the paper towel before washing it with soap and water. You do not want to put oils down the drain.
- Keep track of what you have done in a Mission Report.
This is a fun activity to try, but scientists will work to make activities into an experiment. This is the best way to scientifically compare different liquids to one another. In order to do this, you will need to make a hypothesis and design an experiment to test it. A hypthesis is an answer to the Big Question. In general, the Big Question is - what are we trying to discover? For this experiment we could be asking: Which liquid flows fastest down a slope? or Which liquid flows slowest down a slope? A hypothesis is a "I think...... because....." statement. For example you might say "I think sample b will flow faster because it is sticky." Write your Big Question and hypothesis for your experiment. Now you need to design your experiment. Here are a few things you will need to do.
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